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Week 36: Simpur Center

Simpur Center.

In the space of 5 minutes I can identify some of the key strengths and weaknesses of this design, and sketch out a mockup.

STRENGTHS:

• There is a bright, bold color-scheme, perfectly suited to the corporate theme of the site.
• The top menu is clear and easy to navigate.
• Relevant imagery, cohesive typography and colors, and a general feeling of ‘togetherness’.

WEAKNESSES:

• The logo feels unprofessional, and doesn’t fit the bold website design.
• There is a lack of call-to-action buttons, and no clear direction through the site.
• There doesn’t seem to be much alignment of content, the headings, paragraphs and other areas of text seem erratically placed.
• There is no sign of which menu link is active, making it harder to know where you are within the website’s structure.

My Redesign

As always, I was limited by the 30 minute time-frame, but I tried to improve upon several of Simpur Center’s features, adding a few design flourishes and a clearer layout that promoted content over wasted space:

WHAT I TRIED TO DO:

• I kept the bold color-scheme, trying to incorporate into a cleaner layout
• I added a more professional, sleek, corporate logo.
• I used typography to give the site more of a visual hierarchy, drawing the users eye down the page through the use of colorful headings.
• I integrated call-to-action buttons, drawing the user further into the site.
• Integrated a much clearer menu, complete with a tabbed system, so that you instantly know what page you’re on.

Comparing the 2 Designs:

Here is a quick comparison between the original design and my 30 minute redesign. Sure, my design could be more polished, but I believe that a lot of the basic elements have been improved upon, creating a more pleasant browsing experience.

How and Why To Enter Redesign Saturdays

You can have the chance to have your website redesigned in next weeks post. All you need to do is leave a comment to this post with your website address and why you think it needs a redesign.

*NOTE: I can only accept sites with English content, as foreign language websites are simply too hard for me to work with.

The Benefits of Getting Your Site Redesigned Include:

• Most obviously – a FREE redesign job!
• Your website gets exposure to PSDFAN’s thousands of readers
• You understand how to improve your website. This isn’t just a redesign, it’s a lesson in design.
• You will get emailed the .psd of your redesign and can do whatever you want with it!

So please, leave a comment today for a chance to have your website redesigned next week!

About the Author:

Tom is the founder of PSDFAN. He loves writing tutorials, learning more about design and interacting with the community. On a more interesting note he can also play guitar hero drunk with his teeth.

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